Johnson Street Church of Christ

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Johnson Street Church of Christ in Tom Green County. Now settle in, because this one starts, as so many good Texas stories do, with one determined woman and a question she wasn't afraid to ask. Somewhere around 1898 or 1899, Mrs.

W. A. Pringle began seeking out folks in the San Angelo area who might want to join her family in worship, in the Church of Christ tradition.

She wasn't waiting for something to happen. She was making something happen. That kind of quiet persistence has a way of setting bigger wheels turning.

Then came 1900, and with it Andrew Jackson McCarty, all the way from Austin, who held a revival right there in San Angelo. When that revival ended, something was left behind. A small group of people who kept meeting.

Kept showing up. That little gathering became the nucleus, the marker's own word, of what would be called the Harris Avenue Church of Christ. In 1901, they pooled what they had and purchased a house to hold services in.

Their first minister was T. B. Larimore.

And from there, the church grew right along with San Angelo itself. When more room was needed, larger buildings went up, one in 1906 and another in 1936. By the 1940s, the congregation had stretched its reach well beyond its own walls, taking on local and foreign mission endeavors.

Then, in 1963, they dedicated a brand new building on Johnson Street, and with that, the congregation took the name it carries to this day: Johnson Street Church of Christ. All of it rooted in one woman's search for neighbors who might want to worship together. Not a bad thing to build a century on.

What the marker says

In 1898 or 1899, Mrs. W. A. Pringle began seeking those in the San Angelo area who might wish to join her family in worship in the Church of Christ tradition. Andrew Jackson McCarty of Austin held a revival in San Angelo in 1900, after which a small group began meeting regularly. They formed the nucleus of what would be the Harris Avenue Church of Christ. In 1901 they purchased a house in which to hold services. Their first minister was T. B. Larimore. The church grew with San Angelo. Larger buildings were erected in 1906 and in 1936. Among the congregation's outreach ministries were local and foreign mission endeavors, which began in the 1940s. The church dedicated a building here on Johnson Street in 1963 and became Johnson Street Church of Christ. The congregation continued with programs of worship and service. (2000)